


すれ違いのTruth

by magumarashi



Category: IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)
Genre: i7 part 2 spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-18
Updated: 2016-06-18
Packaged: 2018-07-15 17:26:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7231879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magumarashi/pseuds/magumarashi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>The truth of why our paths never crossed</i>
</p><p>I was ultimately dissatisfied with how the game handled the big reveal (re:vale? /shot) so I wrote a scene that I feel like should have been in there--or something like it.</p><p>i have a lot of emotions about re:vale</p>
            </blockquote>





	すれ違いのTruth

It had been nagging at her for a while now, ever since Yuki said his first partner had disappeared five years ago. Tsumugi remembered another event from around that time, a young man who had appeared without much fanfare in her father’s office and had been a fixture in her life ever since. Banri had confided to her once that he had dreamed of being an idol, and she’d always wondered what had happened to that dream. He’d spoken of it as though it were long out of reach.

She remembered how gloomy he used to be at first, and it was that gloominess that made her want to reach out to him. It was hardly any wonder that he was her first crush; a handsome, soft-spoken, unfailingly kind man with a past he seemed to want to sweep under the rug. He was like a character straight from the shoujo manga magazines she read voraciously in middle school. She never did find out where he came from or how he’d come to Takanashi Productions. All she knew was that her father put him right to work, and in doing so the gloominess seemed to disappear.

Hearing how Yuki spoke of his former partner had set the gears turning in her head, but it took Mitsuki and Nagi going to ask Banri if he knew about Re:vale’s indie days to finally put the pieces in place.

The two boys had come back to her empty-handed.

“He remembers the original partner, but doesn’t know his name or anything,” Mitsuki sighed, “‘Yuki’ is just a stage name, and his former partner had a stage name too. That’s gonna make searching a lot harder… You don’t give a hospital your stage name.”

“But we’re going to do our best!” said Nagi, “We’ll leave no stone unturned in the search for Mister Yuki’s partner!”

Tsumugi nodded, but in her head she thought: _There’s a fairly large stone just waiting to be overturned…_

“Thanks for helping out,” said Tsumugi, “Good luck searching!”

“We’ll do our best!” Mitsuki pumped his fist enthusiastically. As she watched the two of them leave, she wondered if she should have told them her theory. At the same time, she wasn’t 100 percent certain of it herself. No use piling rumor on top of rumor.

There was only one way to find out if her hunch was right.

She would have to get Banri alone.

* * *

The day of Re:vale’s anniversary concert came, and finally-- _finally_ \--Tsumugi managed to find Banri at a time when nothing else would interrupt them. While Idolish7 was busy preparing at the venue, Oogami Banri sat alone in the empty conference room in the dorm, tapping away at his laptop at the table. He didn’t even glance up as Tsumugi approached. This was the Banri she’d come to know over the years: steadfastly dedicated to his work, a producer who got the job done no matter the cost. Sometimes she wondered if he even made time for sleep.

“Um…” she began. The tapping stopped abruptly, and his cyan eyes met hers.

“Oh! Tsumugi!” he said, “I’m sorry, I hardly noticed… when did you come in?”

“Just a minute ago.”

“Phew…” Banri let out a sigh of relief, “What can I do for you?”

“I have some questions for you, if that’s alright.”

“Sure!” Banri smiled disarmingly. He always had a way of making you feel at ease.

“I wanted to ask… when was it, exactly, that you started working at Takanashi Productions?”

“When?” Banri seemed to consider for a moment before answering, “About five years ago, I believe. You remember, don’t you? You were only in middle school then.”

Tsumugi nodded.

“I’ve been wondering… what made you decide to work here?”

“Hm? Oh… actually, it was your father who reached out to me. I was in a very dark place at the time and wasn’t sure what to do, but your father was the one who helped get me back on my feet. You could say I owe him a debt of gratitude.”

Tsumugi nodded. Banri’s smile faded slightly, and he furrowed his brow.

“Why do you ask?”

“I’m just wondering,” said Tsumugi. She knew she couldn’t just ask him to confirm her theories outright. If he hadn’t said anything to her before, or to Nagi and Mitsuki, he must have wanted to keep it hidden--if it was true at all. She’d keep whittling him down before dropping her trump card.

“Hm,” said Banri, “A few days ago, Nagi and Mitsuki were also asking about five years ago.”

“What did they ask about?”

“They wanted to know if I knew anything about Re:vale’s indie days. I’ve been a fan of Re:vale since the beginning, but I don’t know if anything I said was helpful.”

“Got it,” said Tsumugi, “Speaking of Re:vale’s indie days… I heard about the accident that put Yuki’s partner out of commission. I had no idea Re:vale had something so awful happen to them.”

Banri nodded.

“It was a shame,” he said, “But I’m glad Yuki was able to keep going and find someone new to sing with him. Yuki was really what made Re:vale shine, so as long as he could keep singing... ”

She had him now.

“Oogami, one more thing,” said Tsumugi, “It might be a bit forward, but…”

He cocked his head curiously.

“If it’s a love confession, don’t you think I’m a little old for you?”

“No, no, it’s not that!!” Tsumugi waved her hands wildly, flushing in spite of herself, “It’s nothing like that!! It’s just… talking about five years ago make me think of something.”

“Oh…?”

“Can I ask you to push your bangs back for a second? I just want to make sure I’m not going crazy, but I could have sworn that when I was younger, you... ”

The look in his eyes at that moment was all Tsumugi needed. 

“... had a large scar on your forehead.”

He looked away and smiled calmly.

“You can’t see it anymore,” he said, “It’s completely healed now.”

He looked back at her. There was something new in his eyes; something that looked more like fatigue. Defeat.

“You’ve always been a bright girl, Tsumugi,” he said quietly, “I guess I’m not surprised that you figured it out.”

“So it’s true, then,” said Tsumugi, “You were Yuki’s original partner.”

“I was,” Banri echoed, “Case closed.”

“No, case _not_ closed,” said Tsumugi, “There’s still something I need to know. Why did you cut off contact with Yuki? Why disappear?”

Banri grimaced.

“A lot of reasons,” he said, “I suppose since you figured it out, there’s no use trying to hide it anymore. After what happened, I couldn’t go back into show business--not as a performer, anyway. I didn’t want to drag Yuki down any more than I already had.”

“You sacrificed yourself for his sake, you mean.”

“Mm,” Banri nodded, “I meant it when I said that Yuki was what made Re:vale shine. Becoming idols and forming a group had been my idea, but Yuki… you’ve seen him perform, so you know. If anything happened to him, I--” he laughed, just slightly, “Well, I don’t have to speak in ifs anymore. Something almost _did_ happen to him, and I dropped everything to make sure it didn’t.”

Tsumugi watched him quietly, waiting patiently for him to go on.

“At the time I didn’t think about what would happen to me. Perhaps I should have… but maybe that wouldn’t have changed anything. I may have saved Yuki, but Re:vale was finished. I was in no shape to perform.”

“Yuki said that a producer offered to pay for surgery to help get your face back to normal,” said Tsumugi, “But you turned him down.”

Banri nodded.

“It was a tempting offer, but I didn’t like the hand offering it to me,” said Banri,“That producer… he’d approached us before the accident as well, and we’d already turned him down. He wanted us to do a lot of things we weren’t sure we were okay with. He spoke of turning us into legends, something that could surpass even Zero. 

_That could surpass even Zero…_ where had she heard that before?

“Anyway, it set off a lot of warning bells. So, even though the offer was generous, and even though Yuki wanted to say yes, I couldn’t accept it. Besides... ”

Banri indicated to his throat and smiled weakly.

“It wasn’t just my face that was damaged in the accident.”

Tsumugi gasped, hands darting to her lips.

“No…!”

“The doctors said there was a possibility that I would be able to sing at my full strength again with therapy, but it would take a long time. I would have kept Yuki waiting...”

“So you disappeared.”

“Yes. I never told Yuki about my other injury, either. He’s the kind of person who would have waited for me as long as it took to recover. Ten years, twenty… I didn’t want him to throw his dreams away for my sake. After all I’d done to make sure he still... ”

Banri trailed off and looked away. His mouth twitched slightly at the corners.

“It worked in the end, didn’t it?” said Banri, voice shaking, “Momo stepped in to help, and Re:vale went on to be everything we dreamed it could be. Even if that Re:vale doesn’t involve me, I’m satisfied. I’ll continue cheering them on till the very end…”

“Oogami…” Tsumugi’s heart felt heavy, but she knew it couldn’t possibly feel as heavy as Banri’s must have at that moment, “He’s searching for you, you know. Yuki is.”

“Is he?”

“He absolutely wants to find you. Not just him--Momo too.”

“Why?” 

“You know why!” said Tsumugi. Her voice came out more forcefully than she intended, “You were his partner! Disappearing without a trace… He’s been worried sick about you for five years!”

She backed off a little.

“S-Sorry, that was out of line…”

Banri shook his head.

“It’s fine,” he said gently, “I’m not surprised he’s worried, but… to actually come looking for me…?”

“Did you expect him to just abandon you, after everything that happened?”

“Well, no…” said Banri, “But I’d been counting on it.”

“Oogami,” said Tsumugi, “Re:vale’s anniversary concert is tonight, and I want you to do something for me. I want you to come with me to Zero Arena and make amends with Yuki.”

“No,” said Banri firmly.

“It’s not just for your own sake,” said Tsumugi, “If you’ve moved on that’s fine, but… Momo’s so anxious about this that he hasn’t been able to sing. He’s afraid that if Yuki finds you, he’ll end up getting replaced... ”

“So, wouldn’t it be better to _not_ find me?” said Banri.

“No, because that wouldn’t solve anything,” said Tsumugi, “Oogami, you have to tell Yuki the truth about your injury and why you disappeared. He and Momo deserve to know. And if _you_ don’t tell them… I can’t promise I won’t.”

“Isn’t that illegal--disclosing someone’s private medical history…?”

“Well, I don’t know, but it would definitely better if they heard it from you personally. If Momo’s anxiety could be put to rest… and Yuki deserves to have closure after all this time, don’t you think?”

Banri grimaced.

“Do I have any right to talk to them, after everything that’s--!”

“Oogami, please.” She bent down to look him straight in the eyes, “Please stop holding yourself back like this.”

He eyed her for a long time. She never moved her gaze from his, willing him to move first. She couldn’t give up on him, not now. Not when she’d been right. Not with everyone else counting on her… 

Finally Banri sighed. He stood up, closing his laptop with a _clack_.

“I can’t do it,” he said, a hint of bitterness behind his smile, “After all this time… I still just can’t say no to you, Tsumugi. You really are the president’s daughter.”

Tsumugi looked up at him suddenly.

“You’ll do it…?”

“Yes. But let’s hurry before I change my mind.”

Tsumugi bowed deeply, hair falling over her face in a curtain of blonde.

“T-thank you very much!!”

Banri was already walking past her; there was a click as the door opened.

“Come on,” said Banri, “We’ll take my car.”

Tsumugi ran to join him. It was strange: walking beside him after he’d bared his heart to her, she almost remembered why he’d been her first crush… but that was neither here nor there. What mattered would be the look on Yuki and Momo’s faces when she and Banri walked into Re:vale’s dressing room not too long after.

She wanted to know she’d done the right thing.


End file.
